Saturday, February 4, 2012

Don't you hate buying laundry detergent? I sure did. It was always that necessary-but-ever-so annoying purchase that would add about $10 to my grocery bill.

Enter Pintrest :). This sight has seriously been a God-send to a girl who is trying to learn to be a thrifty wifey! I was able to find a ridiculously easy recipe for making my own laundry detergent over at Why Not Sew? using the ingredients in the pic above. Tonight was the second time I've made it and I am super pleased with results each time.

I was able to find these canisters at the Dollar Tree to store my laundry detergent in:

And there you go! Each batch you make is enough for 64 loads of laundry for suuuuuper cheap. Craziness.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

It's been forever since I have posted! I have a litany of excuses - but I will spare you and just say...it's time to get back to blogging! I have changed the title of my blog to reflect what I want it to really be about - things in my life that bring me joy. I have been retraining my eyes to see all the ways my Savior has blessed me - instead of choosing to see lack, I want to choose to see overflow. The awesome part is, when I look for the blessings, they are always there! My Savior just keeps on giving.

Here's some things that have made my heart happy the last couple months...

My marriage! Jake and I have taken some scary new steps together this year (moving to a place where we didn't know anyone, starting seminary, finding a new church...) but we have only grown closer because of it. He is my hero!

Our small group from church. Jake and I started attending North Wake Church this past fall and have plugged into a small group of awesome individuals. This group has been such a huge blessing in our lives as we learn how to walk in true biblical community.

Getting to meet my parents in Massachusetts to visit my Grandparents! It was a blast to hang out with Mom and Dad for a week and love on Grandma and Grandpa.

There's a TON more I could share of good things the Lord has been doing in our lives, but I will leave that for later posts.

I'm excited to spend 2012 actively thanking God for all the gifts he has brought into my life :)

Monday, June 6, 2011

Me with two amazing ladies - my mother-in-law,
Suzie, and my sister-in-law, Joanna. It is so fun to serve
At Uplands Reach along side them.

Hey Everyone!

The summer is kicking into high-gear here at Uplands Reach Conference Center! I am sitting in an office buzzing with activity as I write this - it seems as if there is so much to do and so little time!

A few of our awesome Crew members!

Last Sunday, our Crew arrived. This team is made up of seven dynamic college students who raise their support and spend a summer here working hard and loving kids.

This coming Sunday, our Boot Campers arrive. This is a team of late high school/college-age students who are spending a summer at Uplands to dig deep into why they believe what they believe and be trained to go back to their various school campuses to be a light for Christ. They also volunteer and help us run camps and youth rallies.

With our Crew here, we are busy preparing for Boot Campers and Teen Campers (Teen Camp starts on June 20 and goes til June 24). Registrations have to be combed through, people need to be called, vendors and meals need to be arranged, skits need to be practiced, worship songs run through by our worship team, and our campus needs to be in tip-top shape. All of this makes for some pretty long days!

In all the busy-ness, I am learning a lot. I am learning how to lead people with firmness and love; how to rely on God in those moments when I feel like I have nothing to give; and to multi-task like never before!

A recent volunteer training session at Uplands. It's so cool
to see people so willing to sacrifice their time to serve.

I am loving being the skit director! All those years in church plays and high school productions is paying off :D It is so fun to coach people and see them create skits and dramas that draw you in and portray powerful messages.

Tonight, I am having the Crew girls over for some girl time :) I love all the opportunities I have here to mentor girls and share life with them as they learn how to be godly women. As always, it challenges me and encourages me to be stronger in my walk with the Lord.

Here are some prayer needs:

-Health. For some odd reason, I have gotten sick a ridiculous amount of times this spring and am in the midst of fighting a head cold/allergies. Pray that God protects me and our whole team so we can be at my best to serve Him!

-Unity. Satan seems to love to destroy unity among any team determined to serve Jesus. Please pray that we guard our minds in Christ Jesus and love each other with Christ's love.

-Salvation. Begin to pray that God will prepare the hearts of teen campers coming in a short two weeks; that many will truly understand the gospel and run to Jesus Christ for salvation!

I am so grateful for all of you who supported me financially and are supporting me in prayer! I wouldn't be able to do what I do without you. Serving Jesus is such a privilege.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Our friends here at the camp us are going to be doing an "international potluck" coming up.

It's neat because everyone that works here has a passion for missions and we've all spent time in various places around the world: the Phillipines, Brazil, Peru, Slovakia, Chile, among others. We all want to get together and share some of the deliciousness of those places - I'm pumped!!

I've spent time in Slovakia working at a school of missionary kids. I got to try some amazing food over there! One of the Slovak specialties is Garlic Soup. I recently asked my friend Melanie who grew up in Slovakia for the recipe and I made it for Jake and I. It is sooo easy and yummy! Not to mention it's probably one of the healthiest things you can put in your body. Garlic provides powerful antioxidants to help prevent cancer. If you make your own stock, you are making it even more healthy. So here is the recipe so you too, can enjoy the Slovak goodness! :) Bon Appetite!

Ingredients:

* 3 cups of chicken stock

* 3 cups water (you can use 6 cups if you don’t have stock on hand)

* 1 head of garlic

* 1/3 cup oil

* Dash of sea salt

* Freshly ground pepper

* Few leaves of parsley

* 1 cup cubed crusty day old bread

Steps:

1. Heat the chicken stock with 2 ½ cups water to a gentle boil

2. Blend the garlic in a food processor, and slowly add the oil, a few drips at a time

3. Add ½ cup water to the food processor at high speed, a tiny bit at a time

4. Blend until thickened

5. Pour the garlic mixture into the heated chicken stock

6. Add salt and pepper to taste

7. Chop the parsley finely, and sprinkle into the soup

8. Toss the cubes of bread with 2 tbsp of olive oil and toast on a frying pan

9. Place a few toasted bread cubes in the bottom of a bowl

10. Pour the soup over top of the bread cubes

p.s. don't forget to pop a few powerful mints after eating. Your friends and family will be grateful :)

Monday, April 25, 2011

I hope you all had an amazing Resurrection Day! I have to say it was one of my favorite Easters ever. I woke up Easter morning and got to peek behind a temporary "curtain" (a.k.a. blanket :) that Jake had put up over the entrance to his office and found my Easter surprise: my favorite chocolates and a bunch of coral-colored tulips! And here I was thinking I would never get a Easter basket again...

After that, we went to church and got to sit in amazing service with powerful music and an awesome message. This was one of the highlights for me: I got to meet Franklin Graham! He attends our church when he is not traveling and yesterday he was sitting by himself in the back row. During the meet and greet time, we got to go shake his hand and thank him for all he does. His humble response reminded me that no matter how much a world-changer you are, you are still human and God is God. It was neat how his simple response to us thanking him reminded me that it's not about him, but about God.

After church, we joined our family at a lovely jewel of a place that Jake and I had never been to. Leatherwood is an equestrian community between Boone and Wilkesboro tucked in a valley. They had a lovely Easter brunch and even lovelier grounds to explore. Jake and I had a blast walking around and seeing all this place has to offer. We will for sure be coming back soon with a blanket, picnic, and books tucked under our arm!

Here are some pics:

I hope you had an awesome Easter too! We can never be reminded too much of what our precious Savior did for us.

Monday, February 7, 2011

I just can't help myself. I gotta tell the world: I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!!

The other day, I got sick. And not just "cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze," sick. Oh no. The kind of sick where you don't see the light of day for days and your mattress gets quite conformed to your body.

It brings tears to my eyes when I think of how sweet Jake has been in this time. He's bent over backwards to make sure I'm comfortable and don't have a care in the world.

But Jake isn't just a good husband when I'm sick. Everyday, he does things that melt my heart -

- He spends time with Jesus everyday
- He is very helpful around the house
- He makes me laugh...alot!!
- He works hard and provides for our little family
- He plays a mean classical guitar
- He listens well

...and countless other things that make him the awesome man that he is.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Let me clarify: Not that I always ACT on my interest in this subject (anyone who knows me knows that if you give me anything crunchy and salty - don't expect to see it back), but I find the study of how food and our bodies work together fascinating. And as I start to prepare meals for our little family, my interest has been peaked - because in this crazy world we live in of processed foods, hormones in dairy, artificial colors, flavors, etc, I want to make sure that we are making good, wise choices.

A friend recently let me borrow a book after telling me about the work of Dr. Weston A. Price. Price was a dentist who practiced in the 30's and 40's and in the latter part of his practice, saw a troubling increase in chronic disease (diabetes, heart disease, etc.) plus in increase in people having to breathe through their mouth because their nasal cavities were too small, therefore increasing teeth crowding, etc.

After he retired, Dr. Price went on a tour of the world with his wife (some retirement, huh?!) specifically to find the healthiest people he could find (a.k.a people groups with little or no chronic disease, healthy mouths, gums, teeth, and sinuses), and see what they ate.

Surprisingly (or not), the healthiest people he found were tribal people all over the world. Any people group that was separated from "modern society" were by far the most rigorous, healthy, and happy people he found. They lacked diseases like heart disease and diabetes; mental disorders were practically non-existant, and they were all able to breathe through their noses - which meant their teeth and gums were in good shape.

In trying to find the common denominator of what made these people so rigorous, Dr. Price found that most of these groups ate bountiful amounts of unpaturized dairy, animal fat, and whole grains.

A.K.A Cheese, Butter, and Bread - the three no-no's of any one on a "modern diet."

I was as baffled as you probably are. What?

In the cookbook, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, she talks about Dr. Price's findings in detail, and actually shows studies that have been done in the previous century that have promoted the low-fat diet - all of which were inconclusive or skewed.

So your friend and mine Julia Child really had it right all along - my new motto is: pile on the butter, baby!

Crazy, huh? As I continue reading, I will let you in on more of what I learn.

Also, check out http://www.westonaprice.org/ - this is the website of the Weston A. Price Foundation.